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36 Volt - 900 Lumen LED Stadium Lights

by pobriant on November 28, 2009

Table of Contents

License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Intro: 36 Volt - 900 Lumen LED Stadium Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 1: Solder Leads to the Star LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 2: Continue soldering all 9 LEDs and 1 ohm resister in series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 3: Epoxy the STAR LEDs to the 18 inch aluminum angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

step 4: Add heat sink, hose clamp and test your lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

step 5: Light up the night. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

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License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa)

Intro: 36 Volt - 900 Lumen LED Stadium Lights

The end of daylight savings and no lights meant that 5:30 pm soccer practice would be totally dark. With field space severely limited this meant the end of practices.
Next year we will be ready with portable battery powered field lighting, thanks to low cost, high power LEDs and lightweight long lasting lithium 36 volt battery packs from
Dewalt.

I built two stadium lights. Placed on opposite sides of the field they do a nice job of lighting a decent size practice area for 10-12 kids. For a larger field or different sport,
you may need several more. Each light draws ~.750 Amps, the Dewalt pack is good for 2.3 Amphours or not quite 3 hours. Still more than long enough for practice.

Needed 36 Volt Dewalt Lithium battery pack

These things are great, lightweight, fast charging, and very convenient after you have followed the directions to add standard power out wires. I will not detail how to
disassemble the battery as this is readily available on the internet in several places.
http://www.slkelectronics.com/DeWalt/packs.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQJUEeKo7KQ
9 STAR LEDs (3 watts ~100 lumen each now available direct from China for around $2 per LED, ebay and other sources)
Most of these high power, high efficiency LEDs operate from 3.5 to 4.0 Volts. To save money we are not going to use the recommended constant current driver, but
wire directly in series. (36 V / 9 LEDs) = 4.0 volts per LED.
CPU style heat sink
1 ohm, 10 watt resister (to add some safety margin)
18 inch long piece of aluminum angle (1/16" by 1 inch)
JB Weld Epoxy
1 inch hose clamp
10' x 1/2 pole (PVC pipe)
Screws, wire, solder

http://www.instructables.com/id/36-Volt-900-Lumen-LED-Stadium-Lights/
step 1: Solder Leads to the Star LEDs
STAR LEDs are very nice to solder. They have wide solder pads, clearly marked + and -. Start with the plus side and solder one lead to one + pad.

step 2: Continue soldering all 9 LEDs and 1 ohm resister in series

Solder your leds into a series circuit. The first wire goes to the + pad on the first LED. Solder the second wire to the - pad of the first LED and solder this same wire to
the + pad of the second LED. The next wire goes from the - pad to the + pad of the third LED. Continue until all 9 LEDs are soldered in the string you see below. Next
solder one terminal of the 1 ohm resister to the last wire and solder two 10' lead (+ and -) wires to the ends.

http://www.instructables.com/id/36-Volt-900-Lumen-LED-Stadium-Lights/
step 3: Epoxy the STAR LEDs to the 18 inch aluminum angle
3 watt LEDS at full power may generate enough heat to eventually destroy themselves unless applied to a heat sink. You could buy special thermal epoxy but JB Weld
brand epoxy appears to have enough metal to bond the LEDs and work as transfer heat. Bond all your LEDs to the aluminum and clamp firmly in place for several hours.

step 4: Add heat sink, hose clamp and test your lights
With the LEDs on the aluminum angle will become quite warm. Adding a heat sink (from a CPU cooler) is a good idea to maintain efficiency and LED life. Bolt on a hose
clamp for mounting your lights to a tall pole. Plug in and test your lights.

step 5: Light up the night.

Mount the LED to a pole. I have used 10 foot conduit but the LEDs are light enough that PVC pipe works well too. Light up the night and enjoy.

http://www.instructables.com/id/36-Volt-900-Lumen-LED-Stadium-Lights/
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Comments
5 comments Add Comment

rimar2000 says: Nov 29, 2009. 6:09 AM REPLY

Interesting.

Besides portability, does this device advantages over a low energy lamp connected to the mains?

pobriant says: Nov 29, 2009. 7:45 AM REPLY

If you have an electrical plug easily available, I would recommend keeping it simple and plugging in with standard lighting. The soccer field is 1/4 mile
from my house and my extension cords are not that long. But if you needed a combination of high efficiency and robustness (where the light was going
to be knocked around a bit) a plug in LED solution might be the best. High power LEDs are much more efficient than standard incandescent or halogen
bulbs. And much more robust then florescent bulbs.

rimar2000 says: Nov 29, 2009. 9:16 AM REPLY

Thanks for the answer.

I forgot to ask something that interests me more: are LEDs more expensive than equivalent "ordinary" lamps?

pobriant says: Nov 29, 2009. 11:04 AM REPLY

You just asked the multi-billion dollar question that is driving today's lighting industry. The answer may be "it depends on when you ask".

The one thing most agree on is that the standard cheap incandescents have lost. Go to Home Depot and on sale you can get a 60 watt
incandescent bulb (claimed 15 lumen/watt = 900 lumens) for around $1. Plug it in for 24 hours a day and you will spend ~$52 of electricity. (60 *
365 *24 / 1000 watts/kilowatt) * 10 cents per kilowatt hour, about US avg. (total $53)

The el cheapo $2 LEDS I used are about twice as efficient, 33 lumens/watt. So 9*$2 = $18 but I would only use $24 of electricity per year. (total
$42)

Gross simplification and does not include fixtures, AC/DC converter, converter efficiency, replacement bulbs, etc. But you get the idea. Invest
now, save later.

Today florescent (up to 100 lumens/watt) easily beats both for most applications but are not robust for banging around as portable lights or
smashed by an errant soccer ball. Cree/Seol/Nichia/Philips all claim to have next generation LEDS with efficiencies from 130 to 150 lumen/watt.
And where LEDs may make sense today is if you are off-grid and already running DC power.

rimar2000 says: Nov 29, 2009. 1:54 PM REPLY

Thanks for that excellent summary of the situation. In my case, I will follow the mainstream, replacing filament lamps by low power as they get
knocked out.

http://www.instructables.com/id/36-Volt-900-Lumen-LED-Stadium-Lights/